Why making one video no longer cuts it to drive business profit.
For many businesses, video is often an accompaniment to a main event. It comes as an add-on to a new website or change in services or product. Sometime there’s an event taking place and a decision to capture footage is made “just in case we need it”.
And for social video the most common approach is simply: “just cut down the longer video for social”.
Whilst video is the best way to connect with strangers on screens, a one-off project with a single message directed at a certain type of person at a moment in time, is definitely not the most effective use of video budget or resources. Not in isolation anyway.
To see genuine return on investment for video, a single video works best as part of an overarching strategy framework aimed at converting viewers into customers across an entire lifecycle of interactions with your business.
Video is at its most effective as part of a cyclical strategy that works to reach potential customers at all stages of their journey with you: generating prospects, transforming them into genuine leads and converting them into customers and lifelong fans.
As a customer yourself, reflect on your purchasing decisions of late and the steps – probably quite subtle and possibly quite quickly – you took before you parted with your money. Broadly speaking these are Awareness, Consideration and Decision
How did you realise that you had a need to be fulfilled or a problem to be solved (AWARENESS)? And how then did you discover the solutions and products available?
Then, having weighed up the choices available, how did you rate them against each other ? (CONSIDERATION). What was it that cemented your decision to select a clear and obvious “winner” amongst the choices available and make a purchase DECISION? And how soon or easily did you buy once more? (RETENTION)
Many of your potential customers carry out web research by stealth and at night, on public transport or to fill time, and it’s here that video becomes an undeniably persuasive and powerful tool.
So what kind of video should you be looking to make to fit in with all the stages of this customer journey?
Awareness / Top of the Funnel Content
Top of funnel videos are all about attracting prospects on high-level topics with mass appeal.
It’s important to put viewers’ need and wants front and centre of this content rather than directly pushing your products. And for video be authentic and relatable.
Customers might not yet know who you are or what you stand for so videos could include:
- How-to and educational content: about your sector or industry;
- Webinars: Book to view presentations with you as visable expert. Repurpose / breakdown into chapters for a website help hub;
- Thought leadership interviews: One-on-one chats with your company’s CEO and other VIPs or industry superstars.
- Fun company culture: Show off your quirky support staff, show us what your employee game night looks like, ultimately show us why we should care about you and why you do what you do.
- Your story: Communicate your values by creating emotional stories that connect with audience.
- Short for social: Stories from your team about their passions and reasons they do what they do (rather than what they sell or transact)
Consideration / Mid-Funnel Content
Video here is about weeding out those who won’t transact.
Content should justify your solution and be more in depth, product specific and longer form. If possible content should be targeted to specifically what they are seeking out.
Creatively you need to hook your audience up front, show your product or service, demonstrate how it solves problems, involve people and have a clear CTA to drive traffic to your website.
Prospects are trying to work out if you are the right fit for them, so videos could include:
- Product demos: Detail features and specific technology advantages
- Client testimonials & case studies: Beyond puff, but into the detail of the problems you solved.
- About us: stories that share your values and team profiles & humanise you;
- Video emails: strengthen relationships with personalised content.
- Live events: using customers to talk about you and their collaborations
Decision / Bottom of the Funnel
Videos here can help you seal the deal when it comes to closing eradicating with confidence your competitors.
Customers are informed and know what they want, and often just need a timely reminder that you are the best choice.
Product demos or trials, time sensitive offers and deals and detailed walk-throughs are the prompt needed to purchase. The latter works well with sales, seasonal events and the like.
Content in this stage can include:
- Personalized Video: From sales Teams for abandoned orders and carts, sales follow ups etc
- Instructional Videos: Detailed product walk throughs, demonstrations or how to videos
- FAQ Videos: Often the most obvious and longest lasting content.
- Nurture campaign videos: Create videos tied to specific campaigns and release them at exactly the right time. If you know your target lead is going to be at an event you’re also attending, for example, create a nurture video to encourage a meet-up.
- Regulatory video
- Awards & achievements, news and celebrations:
Retention / Post sale video
Post purchase is a perfect opportunity to use video to reinforce that you were the right choice for customers. It allows you to create deeper long-lasting relationships with customers.
Content here can be overtly emotional and is a good place for longer form stories from staff and customers.
Choose a super fan or prolific customer to be a raving advocate for you. Videos can include:
- Customer check-ins: follow up on your customers use of your product; how have their first 2 weeks been?
- Instructional videos: Post-sale can often lead to more questions about your services, so create a video to cover any issues you note customers might have.
- Care & after sales:
- Support team: Showcase support staff.
- Customer testimonials
- PR & Success stories –
- Offers to extend / broaden use of sold products: targeted dependent on what was purchased.